A SYRIAN migrant is accused of hacking a woman to death at a kebab shop in a bloody rampage.

Published 26th January 2017

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RAMPAGE: A Syrian migrant is accused of killing a woman in a kebab shop in Germany

He is trying to convince the court he was under 20 at the time of the attack so he can be tried as a juvenile.

Syrian national Mohamad H. is accused of murdering 45-year-old Polish woman Jolanta K. and injuring an additional five people with a kebab knife on a shocking spree of violence at a kebab shop in the south-western German city of Reutlingen.

Mohamad H. was only stopped by a driver who hit him with his car.

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VICTIM: Jolanta K reportedly rejected sexual advances from Mohammad H

The Syrian knew Jolanta as they worked together in the kebab shop. Reportedly, Jolanta had rejected his sexual advances and other restaurant employees thought of him as "weird".

“If we are not sure, the principle of 'In dubio pro reo' [In doubt for the accused] applies, and we would go to juvenile court”

Ulrich Polachowski, Presiding judge

Mohamad H. faces a murder charge, as well as five counts of GBH and one of attempted murder.

On the opening day of the trial in Tubingen, in southern Germany, the Syrian claimed that the date of birth on his passport was wrong.

Via an interpreter, Mohamad H. said he was not born on 1st January 1995 as his personal documents state, but in mid-November of that year, which would mean that he was still 20 - a youth under German law - at the time of the alleged murder on 24th July last year.

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CRIME SCENE: The Syrian man worked alongside the victim in the kebab shop

If he is proved correct, the trial must be transferred to a juvenile court.

Under German youth law, for offenders under 21, the possible maximum penalty for murder is ten, or in the most exceptional cases, a maximum 15 years in prison, whereas it is life for adults.

The German judiciary sees rehabilitation of the perpetrator, and not punishment, as the prime focus for youth offenders.

Another potential advantage for Mohamad H. would be that young offenders have much more comfortable cells and even leisure activities behind bars.

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CRASH: Mohammed H was stopped after being hit by a car

Presiding judge Ulrich Polachowski said: "If we are not sure, the principle of 'In dubio pro reo' [In doubt for the accused] applies, and we would go to juvenile court."

While experts can now deliver a fairly good age assessment using X-rays of certain skeletal details, they are not accurate to within a few months.

But there is considerable doubt cast on the defendant’s claim.

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TRIAL: The young man faces murder charges but could face juvenile court

A young court worker who has dealt with the Syrian in previous cases was called as a witness.

The Syrian, who lived in a refugee camp at the time of the crime, had already been in trouble for theft and violent resistance against enforcement officers.

The witness said that Mohamad H. once told him that he had been working in Turkey for three years before he arrived in Germany, and that during a visit in the prison hospital he seemed very mature.

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JUVENILE: The Syrian claims to have been underage when the incident occured

The parents of the accused in Aleppo have already been contacted by lawyers and, according to their statements, Mohamad H. was already 21 in July 2016.

However, the presiding judge wanted to contact Aleppo authorities to confirm this information.

For the time being the trial in the adult criminal court in Tubingen continues as planned.